Stand by your fan

Clubs need to realise their supporters are now consumers if they are to reverse the decline in attendances

Stone Town in Zanzibar is just one place in Africa, but its people share a passion which transcends geography. You see it on large blackboards inscribed with chalk on street corners. Some say “Manchester United Scoreboard”, others “Liverpool Scoreboard” and, if you search long enough, you might even find an “Arsenal Scoreboard”. Every day these are updated with the latest Premiership results, and any European games played by English teams. United fans like to gather at their nearest “scoreboard” and Liverpool theirs but, in truth, you would have no problem following news of your team if you were a Zanzibari Wigan fan.

So, the world is still watching the Premiership, but are we? Yesterday morning, although the “sold out” signs were up for West Ham versus Arsenal and Chelsea against Aston Villa, you could get tickets for the games at Bolton, Everton, Birmingham, Newcastle and — something which would have seemed